It’s becoming Tyler, the Creator and Odd Future’s world, we’re merely standing by while they tear it apart and build an empire.
Well everyone, here we are, Goblin (out today, May 10th, on XL Recordings) has come and we can now hear the entire record, front to back, on quite a few blogs and YouTube; or you can just buy it and support the artists. Tyler, the Creator and collective Odd Future aren’t going anywhere, which Tyler makes perfectly clear on opening track “Goblin”- “Odd Future came from the bottom/And it’s going to take a couple armed armies to try and stop/All you fucking lames don’t have to like me/The devil doesn’t wear prada/I’m clearly in a fucking white tee”. And he is making it clear that whether you agree with them or not, you’re going to have to face it, they are here and they aren’t leaving. This is more than likely the new face of hip hop and rap, having been praised by everyone from Kanye West, to Mos Def, and from Jay Z to P Diddy. It’s becoming Odd Future’s world, we’re merely standing by while they tear it apart and build an empire.
Forget the rape scenarios, the murder rap, the violence and darkness; Tyler, the Creator is well aware he’s being watched and even touches on it again in the song “Goblin” that he’s “not a fucking rapist, or a serial killer, I lied”, instead defining himself as someone who needs counseling, crying out that he wants to die and doesn’t want what’s been placed in his lap - incredible fame at an alarming speed. That’s right world – Tyler is just like you and I; vulnerable, yearning for acceptance, and striving for his own meaning. Simply put, Tyler is human; but with a few incredibly creative twists.
Coming off of the massive buzz that followed a viral hit on YouTube for his video “Yonkers” (which I am definitely punting to the near top of my list as one of the greatest videos of all time; I already deem it a classic) and a performance on Jimmy Fallon with Hodgy Beats and the Roots for the song “Sandwiches”. Tyler, the Creator and Odd Future have sparked a social debate and multiple commentaries on just how we should feel about them. Are they the new wave of shock that is going to be blamed for violence that may ignite? Or are they just hip hop artists that should be taken at face value and accepted as a mere work of fiction? Let’s see what Tyler says about it…
Cue up the song “Radicals”, Tyler, your thoughts? “Hey, don’t do what I say in this song, okay? It’s fucking fiction…If anything happens, don’t fucking blame me, white America…Fuck Bill O’Reilly…” What happens next is probably one of the most raw driven hip hop songs in memory to push forth the hook of “Kill people/burn shit/fuck school/I’m fucking radical, I’m motherfucking radical”.
On the album Goblin, being written as an intertwined dialogue between his therapist and himself, Tyler seems to be explaining to us why Odd Future and Tyler himself are the way they are and why they came together. From having a fatherless childhood, to coming together with the collective because they were lost, Tyler portrays himself as someone who is still defining who exactly he is. Tyler’s not sure, and he’s a wrecking ball of fiction trying to find something he can’t demolish- his own truth and his own self-worth. All we can do is duck and pray for the best. Tyler doesn’t want your praise, your finger-pointing, your sympathy, your love, your attention, your money, he doesn’t want a thing from you; and that’s why he deserves more respect than 99% of what you’re listening to right now.
I’m still scared shitless of Tyler and Odd Future, but not in a literal way- it’s more of a fear of unknown. I’m afraid of them because they are creating a debate and conversation that otherwise most people would not have- that’s the scary part, that people are JUST waking up to this sort of shock and violence. While going back and forth with himself on the album Goblin, Tyler is giving us a mirror and making us debate and redefine ourselves. While yes, incredibly violent and often tiptoeing on grotesque, there are a lot of amazing things to find in this record that will push you to have an opinion. I don’t think Tyler is completely conscious of what kind of dialogue he is about to unleash on the world, and I think that naïvety that he still holds is something that world really needs right now. Odd Future and Tyler are pushing the hell out of buttons, and showing they don’t need anyone to help them, just take a look at their Billboard showcase this year at SXSW in Austin.
I’m going to be perfectly frank, besides the really amazingly thought out music, and again complete WORK OF FICTION, Tyler is creating, I find this record absolutely brilliant because it is something that is going to be talked about for a long time. It’s making us look at ourselves and each other, and making us really interact on topics that need to be discussed and looked at. Tyler and Odd Future are more than a hip hop collective, they are an aspect of life that most of us choose to ignore and be blind to. Now they are on your front door step and you can’t do a damn thing about it.
There is a philosophical definition of art that says art is something that makes us look at ourselves and find something new that was otherwise hidden. No matter what side of the moral debate you stand on, or what creed or way of life you lead, if this definition of “art” holds any bit of truth, Tyler and Odd Future are creating art. Only instead of placing it neatly in a gallery to be silently admired, they are shoving it down your throat and making you consume it.
I’m still lost on why I am infatuated with Odd Future and Tyler. I’m not completely sure I will ever know, but in a brief email discussion I had with their publicist, Heathcliff Berru, I asked him why he enjoys them because I was lost. His reply was simple and straight to the point:
“Their raw energy. Makes me feel less jaded about music. Brought my head back in the game. They are the truth.”
And then it hit me, I didn’t grow up this way, I didn’t know violence or how harsh the world really is. Being a kid from a town of less than 15,000 and a Burger King, I’d say my scope of life is extremely limited. I just ask to those kids that are listening to Tyler and Odd Future because they are the trend right now; please dig a little deeper in your listening. I’m one hundred percent positive that they are giving a major portion of themselves to you.
To those that are going to take this record as an example of instigated violence in the future and looking at it way to literally; have a little more common sense. If it’s going to take a few kids from Los Angeles to ignite violence, and be blamed for it, then I’d hate to see what bad parenting, neglect, wars, drugs, and abuse can do. And again, if it only takes a few kids from Los Angeles, then Tyler is right- the world is a lot more messed up than we thought. Listen to the final track, “Golden”, and maybe you’ll finally see Tyler for what he is; a real person. It’s probably one of the most emotionally driven things you’ll hear.
As Tyler says, quite colorfully, “I’m not saying just to go out and do some stupid shit, commit crimes/What I’m trying to tell you is/Do what the fuck you want/Stand for what the fuck you believe in/And don’t let nobody tell you you can’t do what the fuck you want/I’m a fucking unicorn/And fuck anybody who says I’m not”. Absolutely brilliant, but tragic nonetheless, Goblin will tear you apart and reshape your listening. I just ask that you listen to this record looking at the deluxe edition cover with Tyler on it, it will break your heart. Give Tyler and Odd Future a little more credit than being a shocking trend and a fad, it’s so much more than that and surprisingly deeper than you might possibly imagine.
